Rescue Me
by cellochick373
Summary: Kahlan is captured while wearing the Rada' Dhan.


_Note: The beginning uses the Calthrop episode to set the story up, but beyond that it's something else entirely!_

The lock clicked quietly, and Kahlan shivered as she felt the heavy metal ring settle around her neck. It felt so foreign, and she almost took it off right then and there before she forced herself to remember why she had it in the first place. Until she was able to control the Con Dar, she couldn't risk hurting anyone else.

She turned as Richard entered the room, and cringed at the look on his face when he saw the Rada' Dhan around her neck. He crossed the room, reaching out a finger to brush it against the ring before asking quietly, "Why would you put that on?" Searching his eyes, Kahlan silently begged him to understand her reasons. "I can't risk hurting someone, Richard, I won't. Last night, I came so close to confessing Cara..." She shuddered at the memory, and Richard tried to think of another way to reassure her.

"Kahlan, we don't even know if it works-" She cut him off, softly saying, "It does. I can already feel it suppressing my power, pushing it down."

There was a strange look on her face as she said it, and Richard decided that he didn't like the idea of her roaming around powerless with a D'Haran garrison and a Calthrop both posing immediate threats. He opened his mouth to say something but her eyes flicked back to his, and he saw that she was every bit as scared as him at the thought of her being powerless.

Sighing, he closed his mouth and pulled her to him in a hug. He could only hope that she would come to her senses sooner rather than later.

* * *

Exhaling forcefully, Kahlan sat up in her bed before standing and moving towards the hallway. She had been trying to fall asleep for the past four hours, with no luck whatsoever, and she hoped that a walk would help her clear her thoughts. She padded down the corridor, pausing for a moment outside of Richard's open door. Looking in, she saw him sleeping peacefully, and she smiled. _At least one of us is getting some sleep_ she thought ruefully. Slipping silently past his door, she continued wandering about until she found herself in the courtyard.

The cool night air soothed her, and she inhaled deeply. Seeing Cara sitting on a bench in the center of the garden, Kahlan turned to leave but stopped when she heard a quiet voice say, "You can stay, if you want." Going over to where the smaller girl was sitting, Kahlan said, "Are you sure? There's plenty of other places for me to go." Cara shook her head and smiled at her. "No, please. Stay." Kahlan sat down slowly, pulling her long skirts beneath her, and looked up at the night sky. "I love coming here at night," Cara said dreamily, "It's so peaceful...as though nothing has changed."

Kahlan looked over at the other girl, catching the wistful tone in her voice. A tear slid down her cheek, and Kahlan reached over and took her hand. "Hey, it'll be ok, I promise," she whispered. Cara looked over at Kahlan, trying to judge if she was being honest or just saying that. "You promise?" She asked shakily, and Kahlan nodded. "Now come on, let's go back inside. Can't have our future queen catching a cold now, can we?" Her gentle teasing brought a small smile to Cara's face, and she nodded and stood.

The two were about to walk towards the door when Kahlan felt a prickle of foreboding. She saw a shadow advancing down the hall of light they had been about to go into, and she turned to Cara and whispered fiercely, "Hide. Don't make a sound." Cara looked at her, unsure why the older girl would tell her that, but she did as she was told and ran behind a dense thicket of bushes. She could just see Kahlan around it, and she watched with mounting fear as a group of four men walked through the doorway and approached Kahlan.

The leader, a large man with a cruel glint in his eye, stepped forward and smirked. "Alright, confessor, how about you come along quietly and we won't have any trouble?" Kahlan glared at him, and spat, "Never." With lightning speed, the man had Kahlan by the throat and was squeezing. "Where's the seeker?" he growled, anger flashing across his features. "I don't know," Kahlan gasped out, "I haven't seen him in hours." The man looked at her with intense hate before drawing back his fist and punching her in the stomach as hard as he could and dropping her to the ground.

"Grab her, men, she can't hurt you. She's powerless," he said, grinning back at Kahlan's slumped form. Kahlan felt rough hands dragging her to her feet, and she tried to wrench free to run, dodging the grasp of one man and jerking free again from another. All of a sudden she felt a stabbing pain in her thigh and her leg went out from under her. Trying to get up, the brunette found herself held at the point of a sword. The captain stepped forward and yanked the dagger he had thrown from her leg, smiling at the gasp that escaped her at the pain, and motioned for one of the soldiers to bind her hands.

Once the rope was tied, the captain jerked her to her feet and said, "You just earned yourself a one-way ticket to Lord Rahl, and I know he's going to be overjoyed to see you. We're going to get a hefty reward for capturing you." Kahlan could only glare as the captain yanked the rope, forcing her to either step forward or fall to her knees. Raising her voice just enough so that she hoped Cara would hear it, she said, "Richard will kill you before you ever get the chance to collect your reward." The captain sneered and jerked the rope hard, pulling her into him.

Her every muscle was tensed as he said, "We'll see. But just in case, I'm going to make sure we have plenty of fun before then." A cold spike drove itself into Kahlan's heart at his words, but she kept her face carefully blank and defiant. When it became clear he wasn't going to get a response, the captain turned without another word and motioned for the other men to follow him. Kahlan followed, dragging her feet every step of the way, until finally she found herself outside the castle walls and met by the sight of five horses. If she was going to try and escape, now was her last chance. When her captor stepped towards his horse, Kahlan stopped, digging her heels in hard.

The second she saw him tense his muscles in preparation to jerk the rope, she moved her hands quickly down towards the ground so that the rope was stretched across behind his knees. As he yanked, already too far in the motion to stop, she pulled back with her entire weight to counterbalance the force. The captain's mouth opened in a surprised "O" of anger as the rope took out his legs from under him and he hit the ground hard. Kahlan didn't wait to see him hit, however, as she knew she would only have a few seconds before the rest of the quad sprang into action. She sprinted back through the castle doors, running as fast as she could.

_If I can just get to Richard..._

Even as the thought flashed through her mind, she felt the harsh impact of a bolt hitting her side, nearly spinning her around. The pain hit immediately after, and she almost fell to her knees with the force of it. The air ripped through her lungs, burning painfully, as she tried to keep running. She could see the door to get into the courtyard, and imagined for a moment that she saw Cara's face looking back at her. She knew that she couldn't lead them back there, not when she didn't know where Cara was or if she was safe.

Turning a sharp corner, she ran down a twisting hall, and took a quick right turn, only to find herself met with a locked door. Struggling against the lock, she turned and ran the other direction and nearly sobbed with relief when she saw a door that was open a crack. Throwing herself inside the room, Kahlan bolted the door behind her and fell back, completely drained. She looked down and saw that her white confessor's dress was stained red from the bolt in her side, and she took a deep breath. Grasping the end of the shaft, she pulled hard, seeing spots appear in her vision at the pain as the bolt came loose. Tossing the bolt to the side, Kahlan tried to steady herself against the waves of pain.

Looking around at her surroundings, Kahlan found her momentary relief evaporating swiftly as she looked for another way out and didn't see one. Scanning the corners of the room, she realized it was little more than a large closet, and she forced her weak muscles into a standing position to try and find another way. Her eyes lit upon a window about 3 meters off the ground, and she stumbled over. Frantically looking for a way to get high enough to climb through, she heard shouts coming from the hallway and knew she had only a few moments in which to act. Standing on top of a box she tried to force the window open, but when it didn't move she steeled herself and smashed an opening with her fist.

Trying not to focus on the pain, she lifted herself halfway through the window as she heard the door behind her collapse into rubble as a soldier kicked it in. Mindless of the sharp glass shards around the edge of the window, she wriggled through the small opening, and was about to draw her legs through when she felt a hand grab at her ankle. She tried to kick at her assailant, and for a split second she felt her foot connect, but the next thing she knew another hand had both ankles, and she was being dragged back into the storeroom. Kahlan could feel the jagged edges of the window tearing at her skin, and she desperately tried to block out the pain. Her hand grasped at the loose dirt outside the window, but she continued sliding backwards. The last thing she remembered was falling through the window and seeing the stone floor approaching at alarming speed.

* * *

Cara crouched in her place, not sure what had just happened. Kahlan had told her to hide, and then four men had come barreling through the door and into the courtyard. Words had been exchanged, and Kahlan had tried to run. The leader of the quad, a large, ugly man, threw a dagger with alarming precision into the brunette's thigh. Cara could only watch helplessly as Kahlan was bound, and then she heard it: Kahlan's voice, louder than the others. "Richard will kill you before you ever get the chance to collect your reward."

Instantly Cara understood what Kahlan wanted-needed- her to do. As the older brunette was led away, Cara waited for a few long moments until she was absolutely sure that the quad was out of sight and sound. She stood then, and was about to run for Richard's room when she heard a cry of rage and saw Kahlan come running down the hall a second later. With horror, Cara watched as a bolt flew from outside the gate and hit the confessor in the side, nearly dropping her.

For a split second, Cara saw Kahlan looking straight at her, but she couldn't tell if Kahlan had actually seen her. Regardless, the older brunette fled down a side hallway, and soon after the quad came rushing the same direction. Cara turned and ran for Richard's room, hoping that Kahlan would be able to fend off her attacker's long enough for Richard to get down there. Rushing up the steps to his room, she didn't bother knocking at the door, simply running in and shaking him. "Richard, please, wake up, they have Kahlan!"

Richard had been looking up at her in sleepy confusion, but the second he heard that someone had Kahlan, the sleep dissipated instantly. "Who? Where are they?"

Trying to speak in between gasps, Cara said, "A D'Haran quad. She's somewhere in the basement, I'll show you, hurry." Grabbing his sword, Richard sprinted after Cara. Down three flights of stairs and through winding halls, they finally stopped. "I'm not sure which way she went after this," Cara said. Looking around, Richard tried to imagine which way Kahlan would go.

Something in him turned him right, and he continued down the hall. Reaching yet another fork in the road, he looked to the right and then the left, and felt his heart plummet as he saw the splintered door. Running to the room, he stopped short at the sight of all the blood. Cara was right behind him, and he heard her gasp as she entered the room. His eyes tracked what he knew had to have been the progression of Kahlan's movement. Bending down, he picked up the bolt that Kahlan had taken out, and then looked around. He went over to the window and the shattered glass laying just outside of it.

Richard felt like being sick as he saw the claw marks outside the window. _She was so close._ His eyes followed the deep furrows in the soil until they found the bloodied edges of the window. Reaching out a finger, he touched the scrap of red material that still hung on one particularly jagged piece. He shuddered, knowing he would recognize the material anywhere.

_They dragged her over those edges...spirits, how did she survive?_

He forced the voice in the back of his mind that told him he didn't know if she _had_ survived down, and he turned to Cara. "Go get me a horse," he said in a strangled voice, "and meet me at the front gate." Cara nodded and turned, running to the stables as fast as she could. At that moment, it was all Richard could do to keep from curling up in a ball on the floor and sobbing. Kahlan was hurt, badly, and he had let it happen. A cold chill settled into his bones at the thought, and it only intensified when he remembered that she was wearing the Rada' Dhan. She would be completely powerless against four trained killers unless she could get it off.

Fishing in his pocket, Richard was unable to hold back a sob as he came up with the small silver key.

_Keep it safe for me,_ she had whispered, pressing it into his palm. And now, he had kept it safe but he had failed her so entirely that he wasn't even sure it mattered any more. Forcing himself to focus, Richard looked at where he knew she had fallen, shoving the image of her bloodied body from his mind. A small trail of blood led away from the spot, and he followed it back through twisting halls. When his feet hit dirt, he looked up and found Cara watching him, holding his horse's bridle.

"They brought her here," he whispered, "They had horses. I'm going to be hard pressed to catch them..." Cara handed him the reins, and he tried to smile at her, but all he managed was a faint lifting at the corners of his mouth. "Thank you, Cara. Please, if you could let Zedd know what's happened when he returns from Agaden?"

Cara nodded. "Of course. Just make sure you find her, Richard." He nodded back at her, swinging up on the horse. He didn't look back as he spurred the horse into a gallop, his eyes tracking the hoof prints in front of him.

* * *

Kahlan slowly came to, and became instantly aware of stabbing pain that seemed to cover her entire body. As the events that had led to her current state came flooding back, she could barely stop the whimper that threatened to escape her. There was a tight blindfold around her eyes, and her hands were still tightly bound, but she was clearly aware of the fact that she was on horseback and traveling at high speed. She could feel the burly presence of who she presumed to be the captain at her back, and it took all the self-control she had to not lash out at him, even in her current state.

The Rada' Dhan around her neck had never felt heavier, and she wished desperately that she had listened to Richard.

_Richard_. She sent a silent cry to the spirits that he was safe, and that Cara had been able to get to him safely. Kahlan let her mind drift away from the binding pain of her body, and she dreamily lit on Richard's face. She could almost picture him, riding fast against the wind, tracing the path she had already ridden. In her mind, she could see him searching for the hoof prints of the quad- he looked so real and close to her that she thought she might be able to reach out and touch him.

A sudden jerking halt nearly sent Kahlan pitching forward over the horse's lathered neck, and the captain grabbed her roughly and hauled her back up. The next thing she knew, she was being thrown off the horse, and she hit the ground hard. Splinters of pain arced throughout her body, leaving her trembling in their wake, and she knew that even if she had the opportunity to escape, her body would no longer be able to make it. She heard the sounds of the other quad members dismounting, and silently cursed the blindfold. It was even worse than the Rada' Dhan at disabling her, and it made her just as powerless to try and defend herself from any sort of attack.

The rope was jerked sharply, and Kahlan stumbled to her feet, pressing her lips together tightly at the pain. She was dragged over to what she could only assume was a large tree before she felt her hands being undone, but then quickly pulled behind her and bound around the tree. Through the dark fabric of her blindfold, Kahlan could barely make out the glow of a fire, and she resigned herself to a long night. Letting her head fall back against the rough bark of the tree, she let her eyes slip closed. She knew that she had to try to recover some of her strength if she wanted to have any chance of being able to continue to withstand the soldiers.

Kahlan's eyes flew open at the sound of a twig snapping near her leg. A rough voice greeted her, saying, "Well, now, confessor, I think it's time for me to make good on my promise from earlier." Her whole body tensed at the words, and she tried to gauge where he was and where he would be next. A boot scuffed the dirt, and Kahlan lashed out on instinct. Her leg kicked out the soldier's legs from under him, but it also sent bolts of pain ripping through her body. The pain paralyzed her momentarily, and by the time she was able to try and work at the rope holding her hands, the soldier was back on his feet.

"You're going to be sorry you did that, bitch," he spat as she racked her brain for anything that might save her. Kahlan shuddered as he lowered himself onto her, breathing hard in her face. Even in the darkness of the blindfold Kahlan could practically see his face leering down at her as he reached down and undid his belt. When he began to lift her dress, Kahlan felt panic grip her, and she started thrashing.

The captain laughed, reaching out to touch her face, and she flipped her head from side to side, trying to evade his unseen hand. Suddenly he seemed to grow tired of the struggle, and he called to one of the other soldiers to come and hold her legs. As the heavy weight of one of the men settled on her legs, Kahlan felt the full gravity of her position, and she tried one last desperate time to buck the captain off. The effort caused the blindfold to slide down off her eyes, but it did nothing to dislodge the captain.

He grinned maliciously at her and said, "Perfect. I want to see your eyes when you finally learn your place." Kahlan fell back against the tree, unable to fight any longer. The captain shoved the rest of her dress out of the way.

Closing her eyes at a sudden burst of pain, Kahlan tried to think of Richard and prayed that she would be taken by the bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

Richard pulled his horse to a walk as he noted the changing tracks. He had changed horses when he had passed through a town in order to not be slowed down, and he had been making up ground on the quad. The tracks he was following abruptly slowed, and Richard halted his horse, tying it to a tree and moving to follow the tracks on foot. Moving silently through the trees, he paused when he saw the faint glow of a fire. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and saw the quad, two asleep and one standing guard.

He couldn't see Kahlan or the other soldier, but he knew that they had to have her somewhere. Reaching into his boot, he pulled a short dagger out, aimed, and threw it into the neck of the watch. The man dropped instantly, and Richard moved forward into the clearing. Looking around, Richard suddenly felt like his world had imploded as his eyes landed on the captain.

The man was on top of Kahlan, who was tied to a tree and not moving. The hatred Richard felt was unlike anything he had ever known, and he strode over to where the man was, grabbed him, and threw him off of Kahlan. The captain hit the ground hard, waking the other two quad members. They looked around, saw Richard, and the next thing he knew they were rushing him with swords outstretched.

The next few moments were a blur of steel and blood as Richard cut down one, and then another of the quad members. Finally, the captain was the only one left facing Richard. The burly man panted, wiped his brow, and charged Richard. Richard sidestepped easily, thrusting his sword into the captain's back as he passed. The man took a few stumbling steps before collapsing into an unmoving pile of flesh and metal.

Richard's sword dropped to the ground with a clatter as he rushed to Kahlan's side, the battle forgotten. He cut the ropes binding her hands and slid what was left of her dress back down her legs, trying to cover her. As his hand brushed against her thigh, her eyes flew open and he could see only blatant terror and hate burning in them. Trying to reassure her, he said, "Kahlan, it's me, I'm here. You're safe now, I'm going to take you to a healer, and you're going to be fine." Kahlan's eyes cleared a bit, and a faint smile tugged at her lips. "I knew you would come," she whispered haltingly, her voice rough and broken.

Tears slid from Richard's eyes as he gently pulled her to him and cradled her body. Trying not to jostle her, he slowly lifted her in his arms. He could feel blood still seeping from some of her wounds, staining his clothes a dark red. He reached his horse as quickly as he could, and he slid her carefully in front of the saddle. Climbing up himself, Richard maneuvered her body so that she was resting across his legs, her head against his chest. Urging the horse into a canter, Richard held her tightly and tried to reassure himself that she was still breathing, and that her heart was still beating.

* * *

They rode into the village, and Richard immediately called, "Do you have a healer here?" Faces peered out at him from windows and doors, and he looked around frantically for someone who could help him. Finally a woman with auburn hair stepped out from her doorway and said, "I can help. Here, give her to me." Reluctant to let Kahlan out of his arms, Richard couldn't see any other option but to gently slide Kahlan's body into the woman's waiting arms.

Dismounting quickly, he followed the woman into her house. She handed Kahlan back to Richard while she swept a large table in the center of the room clear. Kahlan's eyes fluttered, and she tried to speak. Richard felt his heart catch at how pale she was, and he whispered, "Save your strength, Kahlan. We're with someone who can help you."

Her eyes slid closed again, and the woman motioned for him to lay her on the table. Pausing for a moment she looked up at him and said, "This is going to hurt. I need you to help me, so no matter what happens, I need you to promise that you'll keep working." Richard hesitated. He wasn't sure why he was trusting this lady he didn't know with Kahlan's life, but as he looked at Kahlan he knew he didn't have any other choice. As soon as she got his nod, the woman stripped off the tattered remains of Kahlan's dress.

When Richard tried to turn away, the woman snapped, "This is no time for modesty. She needs you. _I_ need you, if I'm going to keep her alive." Richard reluctantly turned back to Kahlan, and felt his heart constrict at the state of her body. The wounds were countless, but the ones on her stomach looked to be the worst. He carefully avoided looking below her waist, not wanting to see what torture had been inflicted on her. The woman bustled about, handing him things to hold and making him help clean and dress the wounds. Every single mark inflicted on Kahlan was seared into Richard's mind, and he found himself wondering if the woman had been talking about this hurting Kahlan or if she had meant it would hurt him. Hours passed in a blur of work and bloody bandages, with both of them working at a frantic pace.

Finally, the woman sighed and said, "You can go into the next room. I have to see to the damage from the men, and I don't need your help for that." Richard nodded, numbed by exhaustion and worry, and he went into the adjacent room and slid down onto the floor. His mind kept flashing involuntarily to each and every wound on Kahlan's body, and he shuddered at what she had been forced to endure.

Eventually, the woman came and got him. Her face was drawn, and she said only, "Help me move her into the bed." Walking back into the room, Richard saw Kahlan still laying unconscious on the table, and still with no clothes on. The bandages covered more than enough of her skin to maintain a degree of modesty, and the woman caught his glance and said, "If we have to redo something, clothing will only get in the way."

Going over, Richard gently lifted Kahlan's body into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Walking over to the other room, he laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her. The woman touched his shoulder and said, "Come get something to eat. You're not going to be any good to her if you starve yourself." Richard stood slowly, not wanting to leave Kahlan, but the woman turned him towards a small kitchen and said, "You'll only be a few feet away. You can still see her."

Giving in, Richard followed her, sitting down and eating the soup and bread she put in front of him. Every few seconds his gaze jumped back to the other room where Kahlan was, but after a while he turned to the woman sitting across from him. "What's your name?" he asked, "And why did you help us?"

The woman replied, "My name is Makella, and I helped you because you needed it- though I suppose it would be more accurate to say that she needed it." Staring at her long and hard, Richard finally decided that she was being honest with him, and he sighed. "Thank you,"he said, "You saved her life."

Makella shook her head, saying, "I haven't saved her for sure until she's awake and able to ride out of here on her own."

"But still..." Richard murmured. Standing to go back to Kahlan's side, he said, "Thank you for the food." Makella nodded, watching him as he walked over and sat down on a stool at the edge of the bed and took the brunette's hand in his own.

The young woman had been through terrible things- things that Makella couldn't even imagine. When she had sent Richard from the room, she had seen things that she knew would keep her up at night, and the rest of the wounds on the poor girl would have been enough to kill most people. Watching him closely, she saw him take a small key from his pocket and undo the metal ring around the brunette's neck before putting his head in his hands and sobbing. Sighing, she sent a quick prayer to the spirits that the girl would pull through, for both her sake and for that of the young man.

* * *

Kahlan slowly blinked her eyes open, trying to focus her vision. Just moving her eyes caused an explosion of pain, and she bit her trembling lip to keep from crying. She could feel heavy blankets on top of her, but it didn't feel like she was wearing any clothes. Slowly, Kahlan turned her head to the side and saw Richard, his head resting on the bed atop his arms. "Richard," she whispered feebly, needing to see him look at her and tell her what had happened.

His head shot up, and when he saw her confused eyes looking at him, he was helpless to stop the tears that ran down his face. Reaching out and tenderly brushing his finger across her face, he was hesitant to touch her for fear of hurting her. Looking up at him, Kahlan whispered, "Please," and he knew what she was asking. Trying to move as slowly and gently as possible, he slid her body into his arms and pulled her close. He could feel her body shaking, and he murmured soothing reassurances in her ear to try and ease her pain.

Gradually her body relaxed into sleep once more, but he stayed in the same position. He saw Makella move in and out of the room several times, but he remained without moving. Two days passed in the same routine of Richard eating with Makella and then returning to watch over Kahlan and hold her when she wanted him to.

On the third morning, Zedd burst through the door, and Richard was immediately in front of him, explaining what had happened. "Can you help her?" His voice held a begging tone that made Zedd cringe. Despite the efforts of both Makella and Richard, Kahlan had been going steadily downhill, and Richard had grown desperate for anything that might be able to save her. Zedd looked at Richard and nodded his head. "I'll try," he said.

Gesturing that Makella and Richard should both leave the room, he went over to where Kahlan was laying. Resting his hand on her forehead, he could hear her labored breathing and the pain that seemed to radiate from her. Closing his eyes, he began the long process of healing her wounds. Hours later, Zedd emerged from the room, an exhausted look on his face. Looking at Richard's expectant face, he sighed and said, "I did my best. Injuries like that would normally have killed a person days ago... But I tried. She's going to need rest, but she should recover physically."

Richard stood at Zedd's nod and went into the other room. To his surprise Kahlan was sitting up in the bed, and she looked up as he entered. "Richard," she said, her voice still weak but much improved. He crossed the small distance between them quickly, but when he went to draw her into his arms, she flinched away as though she had been struck. Looking at her with a hurt expression on his face, he immediately forgot about his own injured pride when he saw her face crumple.

"I'm sorry, Richard, I am. It's not you it's just..." Moving slowly this time, Richard carefully wrapped his arms around her, giving her time to back out if she felt trapped. To his relief, she sighed and leaned into his embrace. Letting out the breath he had been unknowingly holding, Richard rested his cheek on her head and whispered, "It's ok, Kahlan, everything is going to be ok now."

As she nodded into his chest, he inhaled deeply and then said, "You scared me so bad, Kahlan. I thought I had lost you." Closing her eyes at the tender touch and the love she could hear in Richard's voice, Kahlan softly said, "I thought you had lost me too." Pulling back slightly, Richard looked down at her and asked, "What happened, Kahlan?" She shook her head, murmuring, "Not now, Richard, please."

Nodding his acceptance of her wish, Richard kissed the top of her head and then gently pushed her back down on the bed.

"Zedd says you need rest," he said, and she didn't argue. Instead, she simply tugged him down the rest of the way so that he was laying next to her and said, "Keep me safe?" Closing his eyes briefly at the thought that she would even have to ask him that, Richard said quietly, "Always." Kahlan snuggled close to him, needing the security that his arms guaranteed.

She hated that she was so needy and unsure of herself, but she couldn't seem to help it. Richard seemed to understand, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. Slowly her breathing evened out and lengthened into sleep, and Richard let his mind wander. He knew a large portion of what had happened-what must have happened- but he didn't want to force Kahlan to dredge up painful memories before she was ready. He knew she would tell him when she was ready, and he contented himself with simply being able to hold her safely in his arms.

* * *

Kahlan could feel arms holding her securely, and her mind instantly went into panic mode. Some small portion of her mind tried to break through the panic and tell her that this was different, but it was too late. She bolted up, jerking away from whoever was holding her, a cry of pain and distress escaping her. Looking around frantically for her attacker, she saw only Richard, and reality sank back in.

Collapsing to the floor, Kahlan broke down into sobs, and felt Richard approach slowly. She let him hold her, crying into his chest, as she said, "I'm so sorry, Richard, I thought it was them, I thought that-" Her words were overrun by her tears, and Richard just rubbed her back and held her close until she had caught her breath and could speak again. She didn't look at him as she said, "I can still feel their filthy hands all over me...forcing their tongues into my mouth, grabbing me..."

Richard's muscles tightened in anger at the thought of anyone doing that to Kahlan, and he had to remind himself that he had killed them, and that they would never hurt her again. Kahlan looked up at the pained expression on Richard's face and slowly moved up and pressed her lips against his. He didn't respond, but when she pulled back his eyes were closed.

"What was that?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. Kahlan looked away as she said, "I needed to remind myself that love is out there...that it doesn't have to hurt." Richard's eyes opened and he turned her face back to him. Studying her eyes for a moment, he finally moved down and kissed her.

He tried to pour all of the love he felt for her into the kiss, to show her that she was his world and he couldn't live without her. He felt lightheaded with joy when she slowly opened her mouth to him, but he made sure to keep the kiss tender, mindful of the circumstances. She pulled back first, but she kept her head nestled in the crook of his neck.

Mimicking his earlier words, she softly asked, "What was that?" Smiling, Richard said, "I needed to remind you that love doesn't have to hurt, and that I will always be here for you." He could feel the seeping exhaustion that was permeating her body, and he lifted her in his arms. Walking over to the bed he gently put her down before climbing in with her.

Instantly she was pressed close against him, and he put his arms around her in reassurance. "Rest," he whispered, rubbing her back soothingly. As she was about to drift off, Kahlan murmured, "I love you, Richard." His heart swelled at the words, and he could barely contain the joy that coursed through him at her admission. Kissing her forehead, he whispered, "I love you too."

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Ok. The end. let me know what you thought, i really appreciate the reviews. Just wanted to post this before the finale today, because im pretty darn excited! And can i just say, for the record, that kahlan jumping onto the calthrop's back had to be just about the most hilarious thing ive seen.

But really, please review!

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